As an avid analog photographer this project struck a chord with me & I bet there’s a chance it will with you too.
The Disappearance of Darkness video by Robert Burtley; http://vimeo.com/35389773
Burtley’s blog, it’s very interesting with all kinds of photo tidbits; http://darkness.robertburley.com/
Film coating facility, AGFA-Gevaert, Mortsel, Belgium[#1] 2007
Enjoy,
Jenne Willis-Marquez
I saw Leslie post that on FB yesterday. It struck a chord with me too. Is that book widely published?
It’s through Princeton Arch Press, I assume you can easily find it via Amazon. Just released today! Maybe a good one for your class @ Brooks?
Interesting. I always just kind of assumed that film would be like oil paint, and would stick around as a niche market for artists and hobbyists. But a child can make oil paint, given a few simple ingredients. Making film is a little more complex. Whether it persists or not as a medium, however, seems irrelevant when compared to the continuance of photography as a form of expression, and to art itself.
Stieglitz lamented the disappearance of the platinum process (which still exists, if you’re willing to seek it out and pay for it), and complained that gelatin silver prints lacked the richness and subtlety of a platinum print. Burtley and others seem to feel the same way about film as compared to digital imaging.
Photography has already changed, however, as it has many times before, and to use film now is to make a particular statement. Don’t get me wrong – I grew up with film, and I used film – great big, beautiful, 4×5 film – every single day for fifteen years, but I haven’t loaded a 4×5 holder, or spooled a roll of 35mm in my bulk loader, for at least three years. I would be happy if the possibility were still there for me to buy film into the indefinite future, but if it were not, I would not stop making pictures.
– Tom
“Nothing endures but change.” – Heraclitus.
p.s. Love this guy’s stuff. Very rigidly straight and parallel. Strikes a chord in my architectural-photographer heart.
Phew. That was a little unexpectedly moving. I need a coffee break.
More photos up on the NYT Lens Blog:
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/picturing-the-end-of-analog/